Read The Torso: A Detective Inspector Huss Investigation, Vol. 2 for Free Online

tattoo and the body was decomposing . . . you know. But she described the character as an upside-down y , with two cross lines on the stem—one at the fork of the y and the other a bit higher up on the stem. The dragon is tattooed in several colors, and according to Stridner, it’s a real work of art.”
    “I don’t think it’s an ordinary tattoo. I don’t think just anyone did it,” said Birgitta.
    “Find the tattoo artist in order to find a trail to the victim,” added Fredrik Stridh.
    “The best thing would be if we had a photo of the tattoo so that we could show it to all of the tattoo artists in Göteborg,” said Jonny.
    “You don’t want to walk around with a picture of what it looks like right now. Believe me!” Irene assured him.
    She thought for a bit before she asked, “Could we arrange to have a drawing instead of a photo? A drawing would be much clearer.”
    Andersson brightened and nodded. “It’s a good idea. I’ll try and arrange it.”
    He turned toward Fredrik. “How is it going with last night’s stabbing?”
    “The victim has been identified as Lennart Kvist; in drug circles he’s known as Laban. He’s a guy who has been in trouble for years and has a lot of drugs on his conscience. It was probably the result of some argument over a deal. A witness heard loud cries for help from behind Flora’s Hill. He called the police on his cell phone. The patrol found Laban’s dead body in the park. On the ground under him there was a open bag full of ready-to-sell heroin. Most likely the culprit is a client who hadn’t gotten the credit he wanted.”
    “Did the witness see anyone running from the scene?” asked Andersson.
    “No. The murderer probably disappeared in the direction of the Big Theater via the park; he may have gone along the canal.”
    “OK. You and Birgitta are in charge of that investigation. Get in touch with Narcotics if you haven’t already done so. Irene, Jonny, and Hannu will continue with the murder-mutilation case. We’ll meet this afternoon around five.”
     
    SEVEN TATTOO artists had placed advertisements for their services in the Yellow Pages. It was possible to get piercing done at some of the places. Painful treatments, which people subjected themselves to voluntarily, thought Irene. Personally, she hadn’t even dared get her ears pierced.
    “There’s no point in running around to tattoo parlors before we have a picture to show them,” said Jonny.
    “I’ll find out if Andersson has found an artist and if Stridner has called yet.”
    Irene needed to stretch her legs a bit. Neither she nor Jonny had any good ideas when it came to the continued investigation. They needed a way to trace the victim’s identity.
    On the way to Andersson’s office she ran into Hannu. He politely held the door open and she curtsied jokingly as she passed through it.
    “Do you have to make a fuss about just walking through a door?” the superintendent said sourly.
    There was a distinct feeling in the air that nothing of importance had occurred. Irene hurried to ask her question.
    “No. No artist. And Stridner hasn’t—” He was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. He quickly grabbed the receiver. “Superintendent Andersson. Yes. Oh? Hmm.” Andersson listened to the voice on the phone. From his stiff facial expression and the chattering voice that could be heard, the two listeners could tell he was speaking with Stridner herself. The superintendent’s sulky expression was slowly replaced by one of surprise. He hemmed and hawed monosyllabically before he managed to interrupt the sharp voice on the other end of the line.
    “We have a slight problem. We need a drawing of the tattoo . . . no, preferably not a photo . . . drawing, yes . . . would be a bit clearer. Oh, really? Great!”
    With the last sentence he brightened up and gave both his inspectors a triumphant look.
    “Thanks a lot.”
    He put down the receiver and unconsciously rubbed his hands together